MMO developer Red 5 Studios announced that former president and CEO Mark Kern is stepping down from his positions to serve as Board chairman and chief creative officer.

Formerly a team lead at Blizzard Entertainment, where he helped develop titles like World of Warcraft and Diablo II, Kern co-founded Red 5 in 2005 with the intention of creating massively multiplayer online games.

Michael Weingartner, previously the company's vice president of Engineering, will take over as president and CEO. He joined the company in March of this year and previously held executive positions at Oracle, HP, and Talking Blocks.

While Weingartner will now manage the studio's day to day operations, Kern will be responsible for the overall creative direction of Red 5's currently unannounced project and future games.

The company is backed by an $18.5 million investment from Benchmark Capital and Sierra Ventures, and has signed a deal with Korean-headquartered publisher Webzen for the exclusive worldwide rights to publish and distribute its first title.

"We founded this studio with one goal in mind: make the ‘next big thing.’ In my new role I will be able to focus more closely on my true passion, which is game development," says Kern. "Michael Weingartner’s talents are well suited to help guide the company to its new phase of growth and opportunity."